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CNN:
The report, published Wednesday, showed that birth rates declined for nearly all age groups of women younger than 35 but rose for women in their late 30s and early 40s.
From 2017 to 2018, the birth rate dropped 7% among teenagers aged 15 to 19; 4% among women 20 to 24; 3% among women 25 to 29; and 1% among women 30 to 34, according to the report.
The birth rate rose 1% among women aged 35 to 39 and 2% among women 40 to 44. The rate for women 45 to 49, which also includes births to women 50 and older, did not change from 2017 to 2018.
On the other hand, there have been recent studies that indicate children born to older women enjoy better long term academic and professional success.
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America Just Had Its Lowest Number of Births in 32 Years, Report Finds
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
When I met th'POPE back in '58, I scrubbed him with a MILD SOAP or
DETERGENT for 15 minutes. He seemed to enjoy it ...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:08AM (38 children)
This is probably due the risk of child support payments that aren't possible and lead to incarceration = fewer births
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:43AM (28 children)
Found the incel! I blame video games. It is the instant gratification that makes boy-men these days incapable of dealing with a project as long term as raising a child. College students these days can not hang on during a sixteen week long semester, they fade and disappear after only a few weeks. Now Universities are looking at 5-week terms? Life is not a game, gamer-boy, and your pasty-white privilege will not take you very far.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:57AM (12 children)
I don' kno' what 'hood you from, but man-boys 'roun' here don' need no long term project to make no baby.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by aristarchus on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:37AM (11 children)
"Raise", not "make". Scientists in a lab can do the "make" part of babies, but making a person, a whole, complete, moral, non-incel person, takes years
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday May 16 2019, @03:41AM (10 children)
Only a few minutes' work for the male, though.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Thursday May 16 2019, @04:58AM (9 children)
No, I disagree. You both have an obligation to raise the child as best you can.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Thursday May 16 2019, @05:39AM (2 children)
Janrinock is right! Proclaim this to the highest mountains! Janrinok is correct! Now if only he would accept some aristarchus submissions that support his position. And, we need to cut the balls off these slacker sperm donors. They give men a bad name.
(Score: 1) by NPC-131072 on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:51PM (1 child)
You want to castrate black men? [afro.com] I respect your commitment to ending white supremacy and after careful consideration must concede that your radical action could have the effect of further reducing the race gap [nih.gov] for single parent families.
Aristarchus is the kind of genius those of us on the morally superior left should all applaud. #FreeAristarchus
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:55PM
Got NPC's hanging off my truck hitch. He don' need 'em, ever since he took an arrow to the 'nads.
(Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:12AM
Alas, taking responsibility for one's actions is ... uncommon
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:47AM (2 children)
The article is talking about actual population numbers, not philosophical wishful thinking about how things should be, in your opinion.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:59AM
True, but the comment [soylentnews.org] I was responding to wasn't, it was suggesting that the male's responsibility lasted only a few minutes. Of course, this is my opinion.... and I'm allowed to have one just as much as anyone else.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 17 2019, @09:02AM
Personal responsibility, or we'll have your balls! Fucking Incels! I want to fuck them is the ass, for no good reason.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:57PM (1 child)
problem is the male can bugger off anytime leaving the woman to bear the result of a few minutes of fun
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 17 2019, @09:06AM
Not if I have their ball-sack in my grasp! You are mine, you pathetic excuse for a man!
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:00AM (1 child)
Found the gender studies grad -- this knucklehead spent $$$$ just to learn a few extra words to try to insult people with
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @05:43AM
Fuck you in your barren intestinal track, you wanna be homosexual who can only manage to be an incel! Why do you think women reject you? It is the same reason other men reject you! You are a pathetic, self-absorbed ego-maniac that cares nothing about others. So we will ostracize you, imprison you, and lend you out for the Gladitorial Games, soon to be re-instituted. Gives you a fighting chance. "He reneged on his child-support! Now he will fight to the death!" I like this idea.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:41AM
You triggered them in their safe space! For shame Ari, have you no sympathy?? They just want to protek thur kulture!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RamiK on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:56AM
We had a video linked here the other day [soylentnews.org] where Ken Thompson was telling about his own pro-student undergrad days... Make sure to watch it.
compiling...
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by crafoo on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:58AM (4 children)
The article isn't about raising babies, it's about making them.
Men decide when marriage happens. It's their decision. But, women decide when babies happen. Men really have no say in that part. So no, video games aren't the issue. Women are deciding not to have babies. Why? As always, look to the economics. People put self-interest first (not a judgement, just the reality).
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:03AM
Crafoo, you are a total idiot. I will not have babies with you, and I doubt that any other human being will. Real people, the ones who become parents, do not put self-interest first, only psychopaths like yourself and CEOs do stuff like that. When you die, no one will miss you, and probably no one will remember you.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Magic Oddball on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:08AM (2 children)
Unless something major has changed in our society, both the man and woman decide when/whether they're going to get married and when/whether they're going to procreate. One person can insist all they want; the other person still has the option of refusing to participate.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:06PM
In theory, yes. But Alabama lawmakers seem intent to change all that. [cnn.com] Even Pat Robertson thinks they have gone too far this time. [cnn.com]
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by crafoo on Friday May 17 2019, @01:18PM
I wish reality was as you see it. It would be cool. But it's not. Women choose when to have children, or if to have them. They have many options other than a lifelong mate. For whatever reason they are choosing not to. Maybe it's a lack of what they consider reasonable mates or maybe they have other priorities. But if there is a shortage of children, it's because women have decided that is their best option.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:58AM (3 children)
By "blame video games" you mean that the solution for countries experiencing exploding populations and crushing poverty might be greater access to video games?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @03:16AM (2 children)
Yes! Well I'm not the OP but yes.
We need people to pursue non-procreative activities. Video games and contraceptives are an excellent solution. Only the people who truly want children should have them, that will solve so very many of society's problems.
I recall the author who created http://freakonomics.com/ [freakonomics.com] and specifically the essay on abortion and crime. http://freakonomics.com/2005/05/15/abortion-and-crime-who-should-you-believe/ [freakonomics.com]
Unloved and unsupported children will do worse in life. It isn't like robotic surgery. The child of a pre-teen or rape victim is very unlikely to have a good life, and the misunderstood negative emotions they receive will likely manifest in hatred and violence.
Long story short, those who don't WANT to be parents can spend their time in virtual worlds or other pursuits. We don't NEED procreation, in fact as a species we could survive for quite a while with ridiculously low birth rates. Lower the population and the planet does better, we can funnel more resources to fewer people, win fucking win. MOAR VIDEO GAMES!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @05:43AM (1 child)
That depends on why they want children. A few people want children for the extra money in the welfare check. A few want a child to "trap" their mate in a marriage, or to get child support payments after their planned divorce. A few want children because they feel they have to "carry on the family name", or because a parent demands grandbabies, or as a vehicle to live out the dreams their own life failed at, etc.
People who want children for the child's sake, not for their own, should have children. Those with other reasons should probably just buy a dog.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:35PM
Or, it could be, you know, because it's instinctual? You know, that biology, science-y stuff?
Maybe you have not yet experienced women whose biological clocks start ticking, but after you have you will not dismiss those urges so lightly.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2, Troll) by fyngyrz on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:23PM (1 child)
I blame multiple things:
Yes, video games, but also fast food, overnight/sameday delivery, etc., All these things reenforce low patience thinking. It should be obvious, but quality romance and relationships in general both require the investment of significant time and energy. If one doesn't know how to apply those things, that's really not good. People who are mindful of this almost always do better, relationship-wise, than those who are not.
Financial expectations are lower: home, job and security not as easy for many now. This works against long-term planning, and certainly doesn't lead to thinking "sure, I can afford children."
Earbuds / headphones: a person isolates themselves when using these. People aren't sharing listening with each other (or to each other.) Music is much more powerful when shared; but one shouldn't let it become all there is, or a replacement for conversation. The best thing you can do with earbuds is only use them when you're alone. Then if someone shows up, they should come off immediately.
Those cellphones... if their face is in a cellphone, they're not learning how to interact with a person, they're learning how to interact with a device. If people don't learn to put those things away, the odds are much reduced for quality relationships. Along these lines, if one is engaged in a conversation, they should either not answer texts or ring-ins until the conversation is over, or if one must answer (perhaps there are child or job responsibilities), make it quick, efficient, and then apologize and re-establish the conversation ASAP. And for crying out loud, put them away and keep them there during meals with other people.
People are not engaging in quality conversational interaction. One of the fundamental errors I have been observing more and more often follows the following pattern...
...that pattern is a recipe for social failure and isolation. Where's the empathy? That's not interaction, they're not listening to each other, that's just like two parrots squawking at one another. People need to learn to respond with some form of "I feel this way about what you've just told me" or "tell me more" or "I have this relevant question" about what they were just told.
Television. Two people engaged in a video presentation is not going to advance a relationship. Video is the devil when it comes to romance and relationship development. Two people like Game of Thrones? They can't base a quality relationship on that. Step Away From The Television.
Erosion of distinctive sensual plumage fashion on the female side. Dresses, hose, lace, etc. are much sexier and considerably more mysterious than pants, for instance. If a woman dresses like a guy, they can reasonably expect to be treated like a guy. IMHO, that's definitely not the "equality" a woman ought to be pursuing if they're a heterosexual female. Reasonable equality is about equal pay, equal opportunity, equal rights, control over one's own reproductive system — not presenting as a male-analog. If a woman won't embrace her own femininity, there's little reason to expect to be treated as if they are female. More likely they'll be treated essentially as "some dude." The number of guys who want to have kids with "some dude" isn't all that high, near as I can tell.
Related to the former point, an over-sensitivity to male advances. Many fellows are now reluctant to make an initial advance, because the consequences are all too often outrageously over-severe. Either the females need to learn to make a lot more advances themselves, or they have to learn how to politely and kindly deal with unwanted advances. And they also need to stop freaking out if someone whistles at them or similar... FFS, it's a complement. Females need to learn to deal, and males need to get comfortable with complements, conversational sallies, etc. Which of course won't happen as long as today's vicious responses are socially acceptable.
Political correctness has nearly killed off office flirting, innuendo, and romance. There goes a large portion of almost everyone's social day into the shitter. This is probably so far gone it can't be fixed. This is a huge loss for starting quality relationships. Really, really unfortunate.
--
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:28PM
Roy Moore? That you? Or some other creepy man?
Like having their skirts lifted, or being fondled? Are you a rapist?
Just how OLD are you, fyngrober? People do not date like this anymore. Men no longer consider such actions acceptable.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:31AM (3 children)
Once you have a kid, you are at risk of child support. You might as well have more kids. Do this as quickly as possible. For example, I got 5 in about 7 years.
Once you have a half dozen kids, you are fairly safe. She knows that child support would be inadequate and that few other men would take her.
Keep going! For example, I'll be having my twelfth kid soon. My wife knows that other than me, the only people who'd want her would be pedophiles. There is no escape, and that is how I like it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:41AM (2 children)
Congrats! You found one of the good ones plus having a big family is fun during the holidays
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @05:46AM (1 child)
Unless its Mormon, where Dad is just planning to establish his own Kolob and rule over all us kids like some old Testament God, or Joseph Smith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:03PM
You're just jealous that you don't get to wear magic underwear or have your own planet.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @01:47AM (3 children)
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @02:06AM (2 children)
Hate to break it to you, but dick size is not actually all that important. Insanely more important is putting in the time to make your partner orgasm which can be done in a variety of ways. Put in that effort and you solve your sexual performance problems. Go down on a girl till she gets a good orgasm and she'll gladly let you thrust away for a few minutes and not care whether you made her come twice.
Now, aside from sexual performance you also have to not be a shit heel misogynist that says shit like you just did. Most women want decent partners they can build a life with and they aren't looking for the next sugar daddy with a big dick. Some are, but then again some men are dogs who'll cheat on their wives and give them STDs.
Dig yourself out of the incel lifestyle, it doesn't lead anywhere nice. Worried about them leaving you and taking your money? Get a pre-nup. Seriously, your gripes have many solutions that don't require hating all women.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:08AM
Short version: Found the Micro-penis!
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Friday May 17 2019, @01:29PM
I'd let this comment go as just generally uniformed and written from an inexperienced person, but that last bit advice about a pre-nup is so bad it's borderline malevolent. Prenuptial agreements hold 0.001% weight in family court when the divorce rolls around. All of them. All of them ever written.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @09:04AM
It might also be due to the fact that pregnancy, childbirth, and raising children are fucking wretched endeavors, and more people have access to the gory details of it all and choose to avoid it.